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Abstract:

An exemplary earphone assembly includes an electrical connector, two
earphones, and two cords electrically connecting the electrical connector
with the earphones. Each of the cords includes two wires connecting the
electrical connector with a corresponding earphone and a zip chain
containing the wires. The zip chain of each cord includes an elongated
main body, and a first latching part and a second latching part
protruding from the main body towards the other cord. A receiving groove
is defined between the first and second latching parts for receiving the
second latching part of the other cord when the two cords are engaged
with each other in such a manner that the first and second latching parts
of one cord block the second latching part of the other cord from
escaping from the receiving groove.

Claims:

1. An earphone assembly comprising: an electrical connector; two
earphones; and two cords electrically connecting the electrical connector
with the earphones, each of the cords comprising two wires connecting the
electrical connector with a corresponding earphone and a zip chain
containing the wires, the zip chain of each cord comprising an elongated
main body, and a first latching part and a second latching part
protruding from the main body towards the other cord, a receiving groove
being defined between the first and second latching parts for receiving
the second latching part of the other cord when the two cords are engaged
with each other in such a manner that the first and second latching parts
of each cord block the second latching part of the other cord from
escaping from the receiving groove.

2. The earphone assembly of claim 1, wherein two opposite sides of the
receiving groove of each cord comprise two opposite inclined surfaces
converging from a side of the receiving groove close to the main body to
an opposite side of the receiving groove away from the main body, the
inclined surfaces and the main body cooperatively defining the receiving
groove, the second latching part of each cord abutting against the
inclined surfaces of the receiving groove of the other cord when the two
cords are engaged with each other.

3. The earphone assembly of claim 1, wherein an outer surface of the
second latching part of each cord contacts an inner flat side of the main
body of the other cord when the two cords are engaged with each other.

4. The earphone assembly of claim 1, wherein outer surfaces of the first
and second latching parts of each cord are coplanar with each other.

5. The earphone assembly of claim 1, wherein the second latching part of
each cord has a width in a cross section gradually increasing along a
direction away from the main body, the receiving groove of each cord
having a cross section gradually converging outwards from the main body.

6. The earphone assembly of claim 1, wherein the cross sections of the
second latching part and the receiving groove are substantially identical
to each other so that the second latching part of each cord is fittedly
received in the receiving groove of the other cord when the two cords are
engaged with each other.

7. The earphone assembly of claim 6, wherein the cross section of the
second latching part of each cord is an isosceles trapezoid.

8. The earphone assembly of claim 1, wherein the main body of each cord
is solid.

9. The earphone assembly of claim 1 further comprising a zipper, wherein
the zipper comprises a supporting wall and two bending walls bending
inwardly from two opposite sides of the supporting wall, the supporting
wall and the bending walls cooperatively enclosing adjacent portions of
the cords.

10. The earphone assembly of claim 9, wherein the zipper further
comprises a protrusion protruding from the supporting wall towards a
region between the cords near the adjacent portions of the cords to guide
the cords to zip or unzip.

11. The earphone assembly of claim 10, wherein the protrusion has a
generally prismatic configuration.

12. The earphone assembly of claim 1, wherein the zip chains of the cords
are made of rubber.

13. An earphone assembly comprising: an electrical connector; two
earphones; and two cords electrically connecting the electrical connector
with the earphones, each of the cords comprising two wires connecting the
electrical connector with a corresponding earphone and a zip chain
enclosing the wires, the zip chain of each cord comprising an elongated
main body, a first latching part, a second latching part spaced from the
first latching part, and a receiving groove between the first and second
latching parts, the receiving groove receiving the second latching part
of the other cord when the two cords are engaged with each other, the
receiving groove having a cross section converging in a direction away
from the main body, the second latching part having a cross section
diverging in a direction away from the main body.

14. The earphone assembly of claim 13, wherein the second latching part
has the same shape and size as the receiving groove.

15. The earphone assembly of claim 13, wherein the cross section of the
second latching part is an isosceles trapezoid.

16. The earphone assembly of claim 13, wherein the first latching part
has a right trapezoid cross section, and the cross section of the second
latching part is an isosceles trapezoid, the first latching part
comprising a first surface perpendicularly extending from the main body,
a second surface obliquely extending from the main body and a third
surface connected the first surface and the second surface, the second
latching part comprising two inclined surface obliquely extending from
the main body and an outer surface connected the two inclined surfaces,
the receiving groove being defined between the second surface of the
first latching part and one inclined surface of the second latching part
adjacent to the second surface of the first latching part.

17. The earphone assembly of claim 16, wherein an angle of the second
face of the first latching part relative to the main body is
substantially equal to that of the inclined surface of the second
latching part relative to the main body.

18. The earphone assembly of claim 13, further comprising a zipper,
wherein the zipper comprises a supporting wall and two bending walls
bending inwardly from two opposite sides of the supporting wall, the
supporting wall and the bending walls cooperatively enclosing the cords.

19. The earphone assembly of claim 18, wherein the zipper further
comprises a protrusion protruding from a middle of the supporting wall
towards a portion between the cords to guide the cords to zip or unzip.

20. The earphone assembly of claim 13, wherein the zip chains of the
cords are made of rubber.

Description:

BACKGROUND

[0001] 1. Technical Field

[0002] The disclosure relates to earphone assemblies, and particularly to
an earphone assembly including two earphones connected to a signal source
via a corded connection.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] A conventional earphone assembly includes two earphones, a first
cord, a second cord, a third cord, and a plug. The first and second cords
have first ends connected to the earphones, respectively, and have second
ends electrically coupled together by a connector. The third cord has a
first end electrically coupled to the connector and a second end
terminating in the plug for docking to an audio source.

[0005] Lengths of the first and second cords are fixed due to the
connector connecting the first, second and third cords together.
Therefore, it is inconvenient for a user to share music from the one
audio source with another person due to the fixed lengths of the first
and second cords.

[0006] What is needed, therefore, is an earphone assembly which can
overcome the above-described problems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Many aspects of the present embodiments can be better understood
with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings
are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead placed upon
clearly illustrating the principles of the present embodiments. Moreover,
in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts
throughout the various views.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an earphone assembly in accordance
with an embodiment of the disclosure, wherein the earphone assembly
includes two separable cords partially coupled together.

[0009] FIG. 2 is essentially an enlarged cross section of the cords of the
earphone assembly of FIG. 1, taken along line II-II thereof, whereat the
cords are separate from each other.

[0010] FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross section of the cords of the earphone
assembly of FIG. 1, taken along line III-III thereof, whereat the cords
are coupled together.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] Referring to FIG. 1, an earphone assembly in accordance with an
embodiment of the disclosure is illustrated. The earphone assembly
includes two earphones 30, an electrical connector 10, two separable
cords 20 electrically connecting the electrical connector 10 with the
earphones 30, respectively, and a zipper 40. The cords 20 are coupled
together as a unified strand when zipped up by the zipper 40. The cords
20 are separated from each other as two separate strands when unzipped by
the zipper 40.

[0012] The electrical connector 10 can connect the earphone assembly to an
audio source such that electrical signals from the audio source can be
conveyed through the cords 20 to the earphones 30. In the illustrated
embodiment, the electrical connector 10 is an electrical plug.
Transducers in the earphones 30 convert the electrical signals to audible
sound. The transducers can for example be audio loudspeakers, which
convert electrical voltage variations representing music or speech to
mechanical cone vibration. The cone vibration vibrates the surrounding
air, thus creating sound.

[0013] Referring also to FIG. 2, each of the cords 20 includes an
elongated zip chain 23, and two metal wires 21 embedded in the zip chain
23. The metal wires 21 electrically connect the electrical connector 10
with a corresponding earphone 30. The zip chain 23 is integrally made of
soft, electrically insulative material. In this embodiment, the zip chain
23 has a solid configuration and is made of rubber.

[0014] The zip chain 23 includes an elongated main body 231, a first
latching part 233, and a second latching part 235. A cross section of the
main body 231 is approximately rectangular. In particular, a shape of the
cross section has two opposite straight sides, one end that is
substantially semicircular, and an opposite end that has a right-angled
corner and a substantially arc-shaped corner. The wires 21 are packed
(embedded) in the main body 231 and spaced from each other. The wires 21
extend along a lengthwise direction of the main body 231. The first and
second latching parts 233, 235 protrude outwards from one of the straight
(i.e., flat) sides of the main body 231, i.e., from an inner flat side
2310 of the main body 231 which faces the other cord 20. The first and
second latching parts 233, 235 of each zip chain 23 are parallel to and
spaced from each other. Each of the first and second latching parts 233,
235 has a strip-shaped configuration.

[0015] The first latching part 233 has a right trapezoid cross section,
and includes a flat lateral surface 2332 vertical to the inner flat side
2310 of the main body 231, an inclined lateral surface 2331 forming an
acute angle with respect to the inner flat side 2310, and an outer
surface 2333 connected between the lateral surfaces 2332 and 2331. The
outer surface 2333 is parallel to the inner flat side 2310 of the main
body 231. A width of the first latching part 233 in the cross section
gradually increases along a direction from the inner flat side 2310 of
the main body 231 to the outer surface 2333. The flat lateral surface
2332 of the first latching part 233 connects to said opposite end of the
main body 231.

[0016] The second latching part 235 has an isosceles trapezoid cross
section. A width of the cross section of the second latching part 235
increases along a direction away from the main body 231. The second
latching part 235 includes two inclined surfaces 2351, 2353 respectively
extending outwards from the inner flat side 2310 of the main body 231,
and an outer surface 2352 connected between the inclined surfaces 2351,
2353. The inclined surfaces 2351, 2353 each form an acute angle with
respect to the inner flat side 2310 of the main body 231. In this
embodiment, the acute angles of the inclined surfaces 2351, 2353 with
respect to the inner flat side 2310 are identical. In addition, such
common acute angle is substantially equal to the acute angle between the
inclined surface 2331 of the first latching part 231 and the inner flat
side 2310. The outer surface 2352 of the second latching part 235 is
coplanar with the outer surface 2333 of the first latching part 231. A
receiving groove 25 is defined between the inclined surface 2331 of the
first latching part 231 and the inclined surface 2351 of the second
latching part 235. The receiving groove 25 has a shape and size similar
to those of the second latching part 235. In detail, the receiving groove
25 is a dovetail groove, and has a cross section gradually converging
outwards from the main body 231.

[0017] Also referring to FIG. 3, the cords 20 are coupled together in such
a manner that the second latching part 235 of one of the cords 20 engages
in the receiving groove 25 of the other cord 20. The inclined surfaces
2351 and 2353 of the second latching part 235 of one of the cords 20
respectively contact the inclined surface 2351 of the second latching
part 235 and the inclined surface 2331 of the first latching part 233 of
the other cord 20. The outer surface 2333 of the first latching part 231
and the outer surface 2352 of the second latching part 235 of one of the
cords 20 contact the inner flat side 2310 of the main body 231 of the
other cord 20. Due to the configurations of the second latching parts 235
and the receiving grooves 25, the second latching part 235 of each cord
20 is locked in the receiving groove 25 of the other cord 20, and the
cords 20 are gathered up as a unified strand.

[0018] Referring to FIG. 1 again, to conveniently zip or unzip the cords
20, the zipper 40 is provided. The zipper 40 includes a supporting wall
41, and two bending walls 45 bending inwardly from two opposite sides of
the supporting wall 41. The supporting wall 41 and the bending walls 45
cooperatively enclose the cords 20. The zipper 40 further includes a
prismatic protrusion 43 protruding from a middle of the supporting wall
41, to guide the cords 20 to zip or unzip. The bending walls 45 are
located at opposite sides of the protrusion 43, and are each spaced from
the protrusion 43 a narrow distance. When drawing the zipper 40 towards
the earphones 30, the bending walls 45 of the zipper 40 compress the
cords 20 to make the second latching part 235 of one of the cords 20
engage in the receiving groove 25 of the other cords 20 so that the cords
20 are gathered up as a single unified strand. When drawing the zipper 40
towards the electrical connector 10, the cords 20 gathered up are
separated by the protrusion 43 into the two separate strands.

[0019] It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous
characteristics and advantages of the present embodiments have been set
forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the
structures and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure is
illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in
matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of
the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning
of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.